Virtual ComputerNxTop’s Dual Boot capability allows you to install the NxTop Engine as a second or third operating system on your computer. NxTop v1.2.3 and later includes a multi-boot loader that allows a choice of starting a native operating systems or the NxTop Engine. One of these must be a Windows OS. You can create a dual boot with another OS, but you will not be able to access that OS while NxTop is installed.

The following instructions for setting up dual boot have been tested on Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems. The dual boot installation consists of two phases.

In phase 1, you resize the partitions on the hard drive to create unallocated space (minimum 60GB). Install third party partitioning software to install NxTop Engine on a machine with Windows XP; Windows 7 includes a partitioning tool. Use the instructions for Windows 7 if you have both Windows operating systems on your hard drive.

In phase 2, you install NxTop Engine to the unallocated space on the hard drive created in phase 1. NxTop Engine can be installed from CD or from a PXE server.

After installing, the user can select to boot either a native Windows operating system or the NxTop Engine each time the system is powered up.

The NxTop Engine and any NxTops you plan to include on the NxTop Engine need to fit in the unallocated space, so select the space accordingly.

Dual Boot installations performed using v2.0.1 and later can uninstall the NxTop Engine and restore the computer to its original state. Dual boot installations from earlier versions can only be restored through a manual process using the original system disks. See page 9 for details.